Just in time!

Freedom & Simplicity™ Holiday Planning (ebook)

Do you need some help planning and organizing your Holiday activities? These festive Freedom & Simplicity™ forms will make it a snap.

Whether it’s your Decorations, your Gifts, your Cards, your Meals, your Calendar … – we’ve got a form for that.

Print out as many of each form as you need (for your own personal household only). Put them in a Notebook Binder. And you’ve got your own brain-in-a-book to keep you organized and stress-free through the Holidays. (Well, I guess I can’t guarantee that, but it will help anyhow.)

22 pages – includes instructions. Forms have the same festive design as the cover.

Freedom & Simplicity™ Holiday Planning - $4.95 (ebook)

OR check out our Christmas Special to get it at a Discount or even FREE!

Mother’s Day Specials

Homestead Blessings DVD’s from Franklin Springs Media

Enjoy a wide range of homesteading activities including Bread Making, Candle Making, Soap Making, Gardening, Canning, Herbs, Dairy, Cooking, Sewing, Quilting and Crafting. Beginners and experts will both benefit from the tips and insights presented by the West ladies. Learn valuable skills for frugality, entertaining and gift giving. Perfect for moms and daughters, these programs are loaded with creative ideas and helpful instruction. Sale prices valid through MAY 7, 2011. Set of 11- $99, Individual – $11.95 each More info on this past blog post.

Bosch Universal Plus – Bread Mixer/Kitchen Machine

$30 Rebate

Recieve a $30 Visa Gift Card (Mail-in Rebate) with the purchase of a Bosch Universal Plus for $430 (or any Universal Plus Combo). Offer valid till May 7, 2011 or while supplies last.

For Me & My House,
Lisa @ Me & My House

Keep in touch by “Liking” us on Facebook @ MeAndMyHouse and subscribing to our free monthly email newsletter, Me & My House musings, as well as subscribing to our feed here.

HOMESTEAD BLESSINGS

featuring the West Ladies

The much loved Homestead Blessings DVD Series is a fun and practical gift choice for Mother’s Day. Vicki, Jasmine, Hannah and CeCe serve up their southern hospitality in each of these creative DVDs that have inspired viewers across the country.

The full set of 11 DVDs is discounted to the low price of $99.00 for Mother’s Day (just $9 per DVD).

Enjoy a wide range of homesteading activities including Bread Making, Candle Making, Soap Making, Gardening, Canning, Herbs, Dairy, Cooking, Sewing, Quilting and Crafting. Beginners and experts will both benefit from the tips and insights presented by the West ladies.

Learn valuable skills for frugality, entertaining and gift giving. Perfect for moms and daughters, these programs are loaded with creative ideas and helpful instruction. Sale prices valid through MAY 7, 2011.

Individual titles only 11.95 each.

Happy Mothers Day!

For Me & My House,
Lisa @ Me & My House

Keep in touch by “Liking” us on Facebook @ MeAndMyHouse and subscribing to our free monthly email newsletter, Me & My House musings, as well as subscribing to our feed here.

My Spring Cleaning is getting off to a slow start this year. Throwing open the windows and doors to air out the house, and washing and hanging the curtains out to dry doesn’t work so well when the snow is still flying and the temps are freezing. But Spring and Spring Cleaning are finally here.

I find it easiest to tackle 1 room or area at a time. That way the whole house isn’t in disarray all at once. Depending on the time factor, we do 1-2 rooms per day for about a week, or 1-2 rooms 1 day per week for a couple months. Ideally, I’ve been going through drawers, shelves, baskets, and other stashing places throughout the Winter. Those things can be done easily in small snippets of time, one at a time. That leaves just actual cleaning to be done come Spring.

Spring Cleaning begins by removing curtains, bedding and other “cloth” in the room. Curtains, bedding and window blinds are washed, and preferably hung out to dry. Rugs are beat and aired out, and vacuumed and cleaned as needed. Pillows and bed toppers are hung out to air out. While these are all down and out, cleaning begins at the ceiling.

Ceilings, walls, and light fixtures are cleaned; windows washed inside and out. Furniture, including appliances, is cleaned and/or vacuumed, inside and out, and moved and cleaned under and behind. Pictures, lamps and shades, books and other nic-naks are cleaned well, books removed from the shelves to dust, then returned. Cupboards are emptied and cleaned, then refilled. Plants are thinned, trimmed, or repotted as needed, and fake plants/greenery is washed. Floors are swept and mopped or vacuumed and carpets cleaned. Then all is returned to its proper place and we have a completely clean and fresh room.

Time needs to be set aside for Spring Cleaning, but it doesn’t have to take a lot of extra time. On days that we are working on Spring Cleaning, we don’t do other house cleaning. The other rooms will be well cleaned soon, or just were. They’ll survive a week.

I hope Spring has sprung where you are, and that you are enjoying the freshness that comes with Spring Cleaning.

Packing away winter clothes and getting out summer ones will have to wait for another day.

I am so excited about the new “from-scratch” homemade wild yeast sourdough starter I started. It worked!! A living bread starter is a-growin’ in my kitchen, that I started myself. It’s on Day 5 now and it looks great. I’ll be able to bake with it in a couple days and will try to remember to get a pic of what I make. The question will be, “Can it raise a bread?”

Sourdough Starter Day 5

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Get FREE bonus gifts when you purchase Wusthof cutlery!

A great knife is the foundation of a good kitchen, and makes all the difference in its functionality. We love and highly recommend the Wusthof Classic line of forged knives. (The Culinar is also a forged series, with with a stainless steel handle.) Right now you can get FREE Bonus Gifts when you purchase Wusthof knives – starting with a Bamboo Cutting Board!

Just follow this link to our Amazon store: Wustohof FREE Bonus Gifts

Read what we have to say about knives and our recommendations in a previous blog post and  on our Good for You-Naturally!™ Resources and Recommendations.

I may not be the sharpest knife in the block. But my block on my shoulders now is sharp about good knives and my block on the counter now holds quality knives – sharp and able to get the job done easily and effectively. I found this post buried in my unposted drafts – from Jan. 07! It’s about time I get this info out!

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Knives are far from my area of expertise. But a chef will tell you they are the most important kitchen tool. Perhaps they are right. As I note at the beginning of our Modern Maidservants page, to eat completely natural we wouldn’t need any tools but a knife.

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But I have spent my life with cheap knives that don’t hold an edge and are usually super dull. It wasn’t that long ago that I told my daughter I really didn’t see any need for expensive knives. But then I began looking at the reason I hated using mine so much. The edges were not only dull, but horribly knicked up, and the serrated blades were bent over. The proof came as I sliced a loaf a bread and ended up with a big pile of crumbs, and my daughter tried to dice chicken and ended up with shredded. Yes, it’d been too long since they’d been sharpened, but it hadn’t been that long, and they were losing an edge way too quickly. I knew it was time to do something.

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That began my research into knives. I found out that generally forged knives are higher quality than stamped, that high carbon stainless steel weds the best of carbon – great edge, with steel – no rust. I learned that Wustof and J.A. Henckels were the names to have, if you can afford them. I also learned that it is far better to buy 1 or 2 good quality knives, than have a “set” of poor quality ones. And that a good chef’s knife can easily cost double what I paid for the highest priced set I’d ever bought, but is worth it. Wusthof Classic – J.A. Henckels Twin Pro

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I learned that Chicago Cutlery, whose cheap versions I’ve had in the past, makes a forged set that gets favorable reviews for the money. They are called Walnut Forged. That there is a line of stamped knives that ranks very well, and a 3-piece starter set costs about what I paid for my big so-so set. They are Forschener/Victorinox, the company that makes the Swiss Army Knife.

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I learned that my recommendations for which knives are most necessary, are pretty much the same as the expert chefs say, though I probably use my utility and paring more, and they all say the chef’s knife is the most used. Those 3 along with a serrated bread knife and a shorter serrated utility knife should be all you need, at least to get started. The only other knife you may prefer to have is a currently popular Santoku, Asian knife great for cutting vegetables.  If you prepare a lot of meat, you may want along the way to add a boning, fillet, and/or carving knife also. But I’d say, get an electric knife for carving. You can use it on bread too if you like.

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Update: After about 2 years of use, I highly recommend the Wusthof Classic line of knives. I’ve been totally pleased with them. They are worth the money to have a great kitchen tool that you use day in and day out. If you can’t afford Classics, the Wusthof Gourmet line would be good starter knives. I recommend them over the other recommendations here. Just get a couple to get started, and purchase Classics to fill in, and then upgrade as you’re able.

Back to Basics Toolkit or Homestead Blessings Video Series
from Vision Forum

Save 36-38% – Sale ends Aug. 15th

We love the Homestead Blessings videos. And for the next few days you can get a a great deal on either the video series, or 3 of their videos with 3 great books for the frugal family.

Homestead Blessings Video Series includes:

• The Art of Soapmaking
• The Art of Breadmaking
• The Art of Candlemaking
• The Art of Gardening
• The Art of Canning
• The Art of Herbs

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In the “Back to Basics” Toolkit, your family will learn:

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• How to grow organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs (New Release)
• How to can your own produce (New Release)
• How to cook simple, inexpensive, and tasty foods (New Release)
• How to prepare and freeze meals in bulk
• How to care for farm animals
• And much, much more!

Special Offers End August 15, 2009

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Clothes – that is.

This is a follow-up to 7 great reasons for hanging out your laundry – from our latest newsletter. If you’ve never hung out laundry – aren’t sure how to do it – or question, what about “stiff” clothes – read on.

Put a cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle. This will help soften your clothes – and it also helps remove odors and detergent residue. No, your clothes won’t smell like vinegar.

Shake out each article before hanging.  Make sure nothing is bunched up or twisted.

Hang most clothes upside-down, from the hem. Don’t use 2 clothespins per article of clothing. String them together (most things anyhow) with 1 clothespin holding the left end of 1 article and the right end of the next. This not only saves clothespins, but also time. And it keeps you from having marks on your shoulders. Some skirts, dresses and shorts do better hung from the top.

Hang pants from the hem also – 1 clothes pin in the center of each leg hem. You can also pull pockets out to help them dry faster.

Pair socks and hang both from one clothespin – either at the top or toe. (Don’t fold them over.)

Hang undergarments from one clothespin on the side. You don’t have to string them out for all to see. They’ll dry quickly and take up less room on the line hanging down from one clothespin.

Fold sheets and blankets, and any other really long items, over the line – big, heavy items over 2 lines, spread out between them. Put a clothespin at each end.

Don’t leave clothes out too long after they’re dried. 1) The sun could fade the colors. 2) Birds, trees or other sources could cause you to have to rewash – then you wouldn’t be saving time or money.

Are a few items, such as jeans or towels, still not quite as soft as you’d like? Throw them in the dryer on air only/fluff for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy your summer – while you’re hanging out!

Living Coram Deo – before the Face of God,

Lisa @ Me and My House

Is a Bosch a bit beyond your capabilities for a Mother’s Day gift this year? How about some great videos for mom? Franklin Springs Family Media has some awesome choices that this mom loves!

Homestead Blessings

3 educational and entertaining DVD‘s from the West Ladies and Franklin Springs Family Media teach:

The Art of Breadmaking

The Art of Candlemaking

The Art of Soapmaking

or Rejuvenate with Serene or The Family Meal Table